Matt Sheehan
9-19-10 Early School Setting My early school setting was defined by not only the school but also the region as a whole. School settings tend to very within regions due to social customs, status, wealth, and value of education. All of these factors influence the types of teachers, family involvement, and resources a school offers. Growing up in a middle class suburb, I felt as though I was in a environment in which education was valued as important, not just a place to dump kids during the day.
Early education for me would be kindergarten through eighth grade, which involves three different schools in the same town: Hazard, South Road School, and Curtis Corner Middle School. My main area of focus would be South Road since I spent most of my years there (grades 1-5).
South Road School consisted of a mix of white and black students and an all white teaching staff. Now for me, I felt safe at school, I knew the teachers were there to help and would care for me. There were still times in which I felt nervous or witnessed “scary” moments of bullying but for the most part all issues would be addressed by the principal or teachers to prevent it. This allowed me freedom to speak in class and participate in activities without worry. As for Curtis Corner Middle School (CCMS), I noticed more bullying and overall rule breaking. At the time, these acts certainly were a shock but were nothing compared to what Cedric Jennings experienced in “A Hope In The Unseen”. Overall, I felt safe in perusing knowledge as the majority of people at school were inspired to do well and learn as was I.
In terms of resources and visual settings, I would consider our schools to be average. What we always seemed to lack was pencils and writing supplies. Now for me my parents would usually buy some for me at the beginning of the year, but there were students who did not have this privilege. This naturally inhibits learning, but I feel as though there was always some way we got the information down. As for the early years, we certainly had a large assortment of books and blocks for creating. We were also given science kits in some years and even made mechanical legos once. Looking back, it seems the earlier grades had a lot more teaching aids and supplies than the older grades: the computer were slim to none throughout South Road, and seeing how each teacher had different supplies I would assume it came out of their own pockets. This also pushed the idea that we learned more of what each teacher like teaching, or what they bought for supplies. Thinking back I feel as though each teacher taught disconnected lessons, introducing a few standard topics but their own specific ones in greater detail. The problem with this is that I really don’t remember much that I learned from the specific lessons, such as randomly appearing science kits one year, to learning anatomical bones. What did stick was the important concepts like telling time, understanding numbers and decimal, basic math operators, and of course reading books, learning the English language, and how to write. These areas were where the teachers were fluent and it seemed like we were pumping in resources to add new lessons without real knowledge of how and why.
Middle School certainly included more technology such as a computer lab and working with computer software. This is where I also felt the teaching was well put together, without need to try out new experimental teaching kits but rather updates to curriculums and books. Naturally I remember more of what I learned here than elementary school, but I do feel as though this setting allowed me to learn more and was more focused and geared towards learning and studying. Overall, I would say that the amount of resources here allowed for learning and range of thought due to the teachers and funding provided a good educational setting for learning in different ways, not just worksheets and notes.
As a final note, the natural surroundings affected the outlook on education. In elementary school, I was more separated to kids mostly from my neighborhood. This factor meant that most of the parents were involved in the child’s education and invoked a sense of purpose for going to school in their kids. For me, this helped drive me to do well and get the most out of school. There were also a good percentage of kids who had a similar outlook, one that is quite different that Cedrics world. The teachers were also all certified teachers from around the area who were very caring about the students and were invested in our success. The fact that the teachers lived in the same society as the parents contributed to the setting of school because it defined the involvement of the teachers and was reason for them to put effort into each student.
In essence, there were many factors that contributed to my educational experience, setting being one of them. In many aspects I had an above average experience, but there were certainly areas in which there could have been improvement. Teacher’s involvement and knowledge, parent involvement, and safety were the important factors which gave me space to succeed; while a decreasing budget, and at times a lack of resources were areas where improvement was needed. My educational experience was good in my early years and was due in large part to the educational setting I spent so much time in.
9-19-10
Early School Setting
My early school setting was defined by not only the school but also the region as a whole. School settings tend to very within regions due to social customs, status, wealth, and value of education. All of these factors influence the types of teachers, family involvement, and resources a school offers. Growing up in a middle class suburb, I felt as though I was in a environment in which education was valued as important, not just a place to dump kids during the day.
Early education for me would be kindergarten through eighth grade, which involves three different schools in the same town: Hazard, South Road School, and Curtis Corner Middle School. My main area of focus would be South Road since I spent most of my years there (grades 1-5).
South Road School consisted of a mix of white and black students and an all white teaching staff. Now for me, I felt safe at school, I knew the teachers were there to help and would care for me. There were still times in which I felt nervous or witnessed “scary” moments of bullying but for the most part all issues would be addressed by the principal or teachers to prevent it. This allowed me freedom to speak in class and participate in activities without worry. As for Curtis Corner Middle School (CCMS), I noticed more bullying and overall rule breaking. At the time, these acts certainly were a shock but were nothing compared to what Cedric Jennings experienced in “A Hope In The Unseen”. Overall, I felt safe in perusing knowledge as the majority of people at school were inspired to do well and learn as was I.
In terms of resources and visual settings, I would consider our schools to be average. What we always seemed to lack was pencils and writing supplies. Now for me my parents would usually buy some for me at the beginning of the year, but there were students who did not have this privilege. This naturally inhibits learning, but I feel as though there was always some way we got the information down. As for the early years, we certainly had a large assortment of books and blocks for creating. We were also given science kits in some years and even made mechanical legos once. Looking back, it seems the earlier grades had a lot more teaching aids and supplies than the older grades: the computer were slim to none throughout South Road, and seeing how each teacher had different supplies I would assume it came out of their own pockets. This also pushed the idea that we learned more of what each teacher like teaching, or what they bought for supplies. Thinking back I feel as though each teacher taught disconnected lessons, introducing a few standard topics but their own specific ones in greater detail. The problem with this is that I really don’t remember much that I learned from the specific lessons, such as randomly appearing science kits one year, to learning anatomical bones. What did stick was the important concepts like telling time, understanding numbers and decimal, basic math operators, and of course reading books, learning the English language, and how to write. These areas were where the teachers were fluent and it seemed like we were pumping in resources to add new lessons without real knowledge of how and why.
Middle School certainly included more technology such as a computer lab and working with computer software. This is where I also felt the teaching was well put together, without need to try out new experimental teaching kits but rather updates to curriculums and books. Naturally I remember more of what I learned here than elementary school, but I do feel as though this setting allowed me to learn more and was more focused and geared towards learning and studying. Overall, I would say that the amount of resources here allowed for learning and range of thought due to the teachers and funding provided a good educational setting for learning in different ways, not just worksheets and notes.
As a final note, the natural surroundings affected the outlook on education. In elementary school, I was more separated to kids mostly from my neighborhood. This factor meant that most of the parents were involved in the child’s education and invoked a sense of purpose for going to school in their kids. For me, this helped drive me to do well and get the most out of school. There were also a good percentage of kids who had a similar outlook, one that is quite different that Cedrics world. The teachers were also all certified teachers from around the area who were very caring about the students and were invested in our success. The fact that the teachers lived in the same society as the parents contributed to the setting of school because it defined the involvement of the teachers and was reason for them to put effort into each student.
In essence, there were many factors that contributed to my educational experience, setting being one of them. In many aspects I had an above average experience, but there were certainly areas in which there could have been improvement. Teacher’s involvement and knowledge, parent involvement, and safety were the important factors which gave me space to succeed; while a decreasing budget, and at times a lack of resources were areas where improvement was needed. My educational experience was good in my early years and was due in large part to the educational setting I spent so much time in.